A dream, a step, a climb, a destiny.
Anaya lingered close to the start line, restlessly waiting for the race to begin. The five hundred meter finals, of the state level inter-college sports day, was about to commence. The event was held every year and Anaya won it every time, and she was not going to break her record now just because of some lightheadedness. The scorching heat burned down her neck, though the sun had hardly reached the mid sky. The inexorable sweat droplets trickled down her spine adding to her irritation. She was doing better than before, but her nausea persisted. Anaya tried to push it back into her head.
Anaya watched as Dyuthi settled down in the first row of the auditorium, unaware of the boys ogling Dyuthi like hawks. Dyuthi’s posture was tensed and strained, her eyes searched for some discomfort in Anaya’s face. Anaya was far too good at maintaining her composure, a trait she had mastered from their mother. Rihaan was messing around with the organizing committee members delaying the start of the race. He knew full well that it irritated her. And as if he just realized Anaya’s glare, he passed her a grin as he casually moved on to the next conversation.
Anaya fisted her hands and turned towards Dyuthi, whose shoulders were far too strained to be ignored. A gang of boys, dressed in bright yellow, settled down right behind her. Soon the entire auditorium was filled with students dressed in the bright colors from various colleges, settling down under the shady areas, covering most of the front rows.
The last row was empty except for a group of students dressed in an unusually subtle shade of greyish blue seated in one of the sunniest spots, almost perfectly in the middle of the auditorium. Each guy in the group was bigger than an average college student. They all sat ramrod straight not indulging in any conversation with the each other. But that was not what had caught Anaya’s attention; it was the two guys in the middle of the group. One was a tall dark-skinned boy, noticeably bigger than most others, and the other was a taller, intimidating grey-eyed boy, who sat right next to the big guy.
Anaya had noticed the guys many other times, hanging out by themselves. She even noticed them standing in empty corridors all by themselves. That was not the only strange thing; they hardly seemed to notice anyone around. They always seemed to be far more indulged in their own conversation.
Anaya turned her attention back to the familiar girl staring at her, Dyuthi. Anaya realized the frown on her face and smiled at Dyuthi, letting her sister know that she was alright. The screeching sound of the speakers hushed the murmuring crowd.
“Contestants for the five hundred meter race, get into your positions!”
All the girls from different colleges dressed in bright colors got into their positions. Anaya moved onto the line, squatted down to her position and the whistle was about to be blown. The moment she got into position, like always, the dream came rushing back to her. A long dark -haired woman stood at the end of the winning line, only the winning ribbon was a black thorn fence now. The woman’s dark eyes shone like a beacon, even in the scorching sun. Her long hair danced in the hot wind, but not a drop of sweat could be seen on her beautiful, fair, heart-shaped face.
Mom.
Everything around seemed to wade out of Anaya’s attention. All she was aware of was the hustle of air and the calm breathing of her mother, just beyond the fence.
“It’s now. It’s time…” her mother whispered and Anaya heard it even from that distance. Her mother’s eyes were calm and her hands widespread as if she was welcoming Anaya past the barrier.
Anaya’s breathing quickened.
“On your mark…” announced Rihaan. Anaya raised her chin up, her eyes never leaving her mother’s expectant eyes. “Get set… go!”
* * *
Anaya sprinted forward, her pace getting faster with every step. Her eyes focused on her mother beyond the fence. She hardly noticed where her competitors were. Her mother’s face filled with certainty. Anaya kept running and the five hundred meters of length to the black fence seemed to lengthen with every step she took. Her eyes narrowed against the hot dusty wind, transfixed on her mother. She pushed harder even when she knew all her competitors were all far behind. Her feet pounded harder on the ground beneath with every breath she took.
Anaya could see her mother’s face fading with the scorching heat, and she ran faster. The ground seemed to liquefy beneath Anaya’s white sneakers as she ran faster until she braced for the fence, and it dissipated into a single line of ribbon and gracefully touched the ground. Anaya kept running long after she had crossed the ribbon before she came to a stop and looked back at where it had fallen.
It was always the same dream. No matter how many times she tried to push back the vision, it always returned to her. And the urge to run to the fence was so great, that every other detail of her surroundings became a blur. Dyuthi stood proudly clapping her hands. Anaya’s eyes frantically searched for the guys in the greyish-blue uniforms. But they had vanished just like that.
Aara : Legacy of the fire queen,
Vandana Rajan
Hi my fellow readers,
Aara: The legacy of the fire queen is my first attemt to put my imagination into words. My first attempt to paint a world that I played only in my head. The above is scene from my first novel. Give me a comment on how you liked it!
It is every writer’s dream to show how things play out in their mind. It is also every writer’s dream to show things that the readers would love to read in their books.
Spare a minute and take this survey, so that I could create a part, a scene or even an expression here that you always wanted to see or always want to have in a fiction novel!
Vpoetry 